There is a need for an improved method for people to meet at a designated location for the purposes of conducting business. Presently people go to a bank, medical center, government office or other publicly accessible building to meet with a business representative. These meetings are for a specific purpose, which are supported at the commercial enterprise within the building. However, it is not always practical and sometimes not possible for these enterprises to have the needed professionals available at that location to meet with an incoming customer.
To solve the need for putting a customer in communication with a representative at a business location, some companies have used video conferencing to conduct a meeting over a distance. Typically, these video conferences have not provided an adequate replacement for a meeting in person, since the quality of the displayed image of the remote business representative and the communications experience is inadequate. An advanced form of video conferencing, called telepresence, has emerged to improve the distance communication experience. These telepresence systems may use larger screens to display the transmitted representative at life-size and may have an improved perception of eye contact. A further advancement presented by White in (patent reference) may provide a three dimensional sense of presence.
A bank customer will typically go to a branch of a bank to sit down with a banking representative to conduct the financial transaction. Since it is not possible to have banking professionals at every branch at all hours for walk-in customers, it would be more practical to have the banking representative transmitted by an advanced video communications solution, such as telepresence, to meet with the customer.
Most prior art configurations of telepresence are self-contained products that are placed within a meeting room. These rooms may not be suited for the communications experience of the meeting. In particular, these “stand alone” systems may only provide a video communication with the distant business representative without having a tangible relationship to the building where the customer came for the business activity. While a distance communication solution may allow for a customer to have a video experience of seeing and talking to a business representative, this may not be adequate for conducting the necessary business processes. As an example, a customer going to a financial institution may need to complete a confidential transaction, such as getting a cashier's check, signing a loan document or opening a new account. The stand alone telepresence system may not provide integrated equipment to complete the financial transaction.
There is a need for an architectural solution and method of using same that integrates advanced video communications into the building to support the business processes at that location and to generate a more natural experience of people meeting in a professional services building.
Prior art configurations have achieved a telepresence configuration within, but physically independent of and functionally isolated from, an architectural setting. The prior art of FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a room 1 with a customer 2 and a telepresence system 3. The telepresence system 3 is not physically connected to the walls or ceiling of the room 1. The prior art of FIG. 2 illustrates a plan view of the room 1 with the customer 2 seated in front of the telepresence system 3. The placement of the telepresence system 3 in the room 1 is independent of and functionally isolated from the architectural structure.
The placement of a freestanding and independent telepresence system within a room may address the issue of video communication between a customer and a representative. However, the customer experience will be limited to talking to an electronic device. This configuration is not effective at creating a natural experience of meeting with a person. Instead, the display technology is obvious as a device placed in the room and the transmitted person appears contained within the boundaries of the stand alone display device.
Hence there is a need for a more advanced configuration and business method that more seamlessly meets the needs of people within professional services buildings.